Predator Vigilante Fatally Shot in Restaurant

Robert Wayne Lee of Pontiac, Michigan,, aka Boopac Shakur, sought to expose sexual predators
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 2, 2023 2:52 PM CDT
Michigan Vigilante Fatally Shot in Restaurant
Robert Wayne Lee, aka Boopac Shakur, in an image from video.   (YouTube/WXYZ-TV)

A 40-year-old Detroit-area man who posed as a 15-year-old girl on social media to identify alleged sexual predators has been fatally shot during an argument in a restaurant. Police arrested two males, ages 17 and 18, in Friday night's slaying of Robert Wayne Lee of Pontiac, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said, per the AP. Lee had gone by the name "Boopac Shakur" on social media. His crusade had led to criminal charges against several men—including a jail deputy, but his work also misidentified one person as a sexual predator, according to the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Monday that Lee had confronted an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old as they sat in a Pontiac restaurant, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit. Lee and the 18-year-old got into an argument, at which point the 17-year-old pulled a gun at the table and shot Lee, Bouchard said. Lee later died at a hospital. Authorities did not release the name of either suspect. The case has been presented to the Oakland County prosecutor's office which will determine charges. Bouchard said the investigation will determine if the shooting was related to Lee's efforts to identify sexual predators.

Some videos posted online show Lee and others aggressively confronting alleged sexual predators in public places. In an interview with WJBK-TV, Lee said sexual predators often make contact with their victims online. "The cellphone is like the new white van with the guy with the candy in it," he said. One of Lee's videos posted to social media in 2022 led the sheriff's office to arrest a probationary jail deputy who attempted to arrange a meeting and sex with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Bouchard said the deputy immediately was fired after his office learned of the video. However, he also warned against the dangers of someone confronting an alleged child predator or anyone suspected of committing a crime.

(More Detroit stories.)

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